Aurivo has presented €40,000 to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, which is the co-operative’s charity of the year for 2022.

The co-op’s employees raised the funds by hosting fundraising events and through direct donations, which have been used to train guide dog Rivo.

The dog is to go to someone visually impaired or the family of a child with autism once it completes its training.

The donation takes the overall funds presented by Aurivo to charities to over €500,000 since the charity of the year programme began.

Support

Aurivo chair Raymond Barlow commented that the donation showed that the co-op is impacting positively on the community in which it operates.

“Aurivo is proud of the charity of the year partnership programme with Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and the positive impact that it will have on our community,” Barlow said.

“The money raised by Aurivo Co-operative has allowed us to sponsor Rivo, who will one day provide life-changing support for someone within our community.”

Giving back

Head of human resources at the co-op Marilyn Phillips stated that giving back to the community is fundamental to Aurivo and that it was eagerly awaiting news of the trainee guide dog’s work with those in need of its assistance.

“Supporting our local communities is central to our culture at Aurivo and we’re committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate,” said Philips.

“The charity of the year programme allows our staff, members and customers to work alongside one another in the local community to raise vital funds for our charity partners.”

Another Aurivo initiative allows the co-op’s staff to contribute to more goodwill projects.

“We give every employee a paid day off work to give back to their communities, either for something of their own choice or taking part in fundraising for our charity of the year,” the HR head added.

‘Heart-warming’

Corporate partnerships manager at Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind John Burke welcomed the funding and thanked all who had made a contribution towards the initiative.

“The engagement of all the staff at Aurivo has been truly heart-warming and their sponsorship of their very own puppy in training, Rivo, being of course the highlight,” he commented.

“We look forward to continuing to update all the team at Aurivo on Rivo’s progress during his formal training period, which will begin in the coming weeks at our national training centre in Co Cork.

“Thanks to everyone for supporting him along his journey to changing the life of someone who is blind or vision impaired or the family of a child with autism.”